NHIAA Boys' Basketball: Maughn, Memorial top Londonderry

LONDONDERRY — Memorial pulled off its second upset of the Division I boys’ basketball tournament with 68-64 win over Londonderry Friday. The Crusaders were led by Trevon Maughn, who scored 32 points.

No. 12-seeded Memorial, 10-10, advanced to a Monday semifinal undefeated Manchester Central at UNH. Memorial lost by 40 points to the Little Green back on Feb. 11.

But then again, Memorial lost by 22 to Londonderry during the regular season. “I think they improved dramatically from that first game,” said Lancers first-year coach Nate Stanton.

“We’ve been looking for the right lineup,” said Memorial coach Jack Quirk. “Kids were not doing what they needed to do before, but we are getting it right now.”

The Crusaders were the far more physical team on the court, especially on the defensive boards. “We limited them to just one shot,” said Quirk. “And we got some putbacks on offense, too.”

Maughn was the star of the evening. He shot 11 of 22, hitting 9 of 10 from the foul line. And he was getting his points from everywhere, “When Trevon is going off, when you’re a coach, you go ‘Oh no ... Great shot!’ said Quirk. “He’s just that type of player, when he’s hot he’ll make anything.”

“We contested a few of his shots but he kept knocking them down,” said Stanton. “He’s a tough guy to stop when he’s feeling it.”

Memorial got out to a 9-1 lead early but the Lancers got back into it thanks to 21 points from Cody Ball. At the half Londonderry trailed by two, 29-27.

But the Crusaders exploded for 39 points in the second half. Londonderry got to within four points with two minutes left, but the Crusaders were near perfect from the foul line and they hung on to win.

“I feel we could have been ranked higher. I don’t think this was an upset,” said Maughn of the win over the fourth-seeded Lancers. “We basically followed the game plan. We can go all the way.”

Londonderry finished its season 15-5. “I’m proud of them. It was a heck of a season. It’s the first time they’ve been a 4 seed in a long time,” said Stanton.